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Equation 4 · Part 2 · How AI Inference Economics Actually Work

subscript

Tmax⁡T_{\max}
subscript

What this part means

The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.

Its job in the formula

A subscript distinguishes a version, component, step, or member of a quantity. It does not automatically mean multiplication.

The passage around this formula

Here CfixedC_{\text{fixed}} is the amortized hardware and facility cost per unit time, CenergyC_{\text{energy}} the energy cost per unit time, Tmax⁡T_{\max} the chip’s maximum achievable token throughput under ideal batching, U ∈\in (0,1] the realized utilization fraction, and m a margin term. This is not a model any provider discloses or that this article claims to have measured; it is a bookkeeping identity stated to make one point precisely: U appears in the denominator, so it multiplies with, rather than merely adds to, every other lever in this article. Halving fixed cost through better batching and halving it again through utilization gains compound rather than add. (Analysis: an accounting identity…

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Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

Open the illustrated subscripts: which member of a family? guide →

Sources cited in the article section

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.